'Winning the World’s Best Steak was fantastic recognition': Northern Ireland beef goes on sale across Europe in Lidl promotion

Irish beef was promoted to consumers across Europe and the UK through a major €10 million promotion by leading supermarket chain Lidl across 26 countries, following Ireland’s success at the last World Steak Challenge.

The initiative has proved successful and achieved increased sales of grass-fed Irish beef. It’s also a significant boost, of course, for Irish farmers.

The LIDL promotion of four cuts of Irish steaks sourced from Dawn Meats, which owns Dunbia in Dungannon, Northern Ireland’s biggest meat processor, and Liffey Meats saw multiple sell outs across Europe, providing a substantial boost for producers and farmers.

The imaginative promotion is a further example of LIDL’s extensive support for food and drink producers on the island of Ireland. The supermarket also assists artisan and small producer in Northern Ireland to win business with its stores here, in the Republic, Great Britain and even further afield.

The UK and EU accounted for more than 50 percent of Irish beef exports at the start of this year. The value of exports to these markets reached around €3 billion at the end of last year.

Beef from the Republic and Northern Ireland is popular worldwide, especially Europe, due to its pasture-based, grass-fed production system, which is supported by Ireland’s mild, wet climate and lush green grasslands. This natural diet gives the meat a distinct, rich flavour, high nutritional value, and tender consistency that regularly wins international culinary, UK Great Taste and Blas na hEreann awards.

The latest LIDL promotion, which began in the UK in March, featured Irish beef from Dawn Meats, Waterford, and Liffey Meats, Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan with premium cuts including striploin, fillet, ribeye and sirloin. The promotions were available for a limited time in each market, concluding in Slovakia at the end of July.

Now one of the world’s biggest supermarkets, LIDL has around 10,000 stores across Europe and a further 1,000 in Great Britain.

The campaign builds on Ireland winning the ‘World’s Best Steak’ title in 2025, when a grass-fed Angus striploin produced by Dawn Meats, in partnership with Lidl, took the top award.

This initiative brings Lidl’s beef exports to more than €32 million this year. Ireland’s food promotion body Bord Bia has supported the rollout of the promotion through its network of international offices and local market teams in key beef export countries including Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

In Germany, Irish beef has sold out in two separate promotions.

Kevin Duffy, LIDL Ireland chief commercial officer, said: “We’re delighted to support our Irish beef suppliers, procuring more than €100 million worth of beef annually from our long-standing supplier partners and supporting them in further growth by exporting €35 million of that to international markets.

“The quality and consistency of Irish beef, which won achieved a record-breaking performance, securing 68 medals across gold, silver and bronze categories, makes it a strong fit for LIDL markets.

“At LIDL providing the highest quality products at the best value on the market has always been our promise to our customers and this recognition underscores our strong commitment to providing world-class Irish produce at the best value on the market to shoppers across the country.”

Niall Browne, chief executive officer of Dawn Meats, said: “Winning the World’s Best Steak was fantastic recognition for Dawn Meats and for our farmer suppliers.

“We truly believe in the quality of Irish grass-fed beef, and this promotion was a great opportunity to bring that quality to more consumers across Europe.

“As a leading global meat company, our focus is on producing consistent quality, great-tasting, nutritious beef from sustainable sources, and we are delighted to see this product being well received in homes and on barbecues across Europe this summer.”

A spokesperson for Liffey Meats, which won six medals at the 2025 World Steak Challenge, including gold medals for its grass-fed Irish Angus fillet and ribeye steaks, also featured in the promotion, added: “This initiative reflects the strength of Irish beef and the growing demand for high-quality, grass-fed products from Ireland across Europe.

“We are thrilled that our exceptional Irish grass-fed beef is being served up on dinner plates across Europe. Similarly, it is a reflection of Ireland’s excellent farming practices that our steaks have been recognised for quality, breed credentials and processing standards on the international stage.”

The important initiative also supports the work of The Chefs’ Irish Beef Club in Europe, an exclusive international network established by Bord Bia in 2004. It unites over 90 award-winning and Michelin-starred chefs worldwide who proudly endorse and serve premium, grass-fed Irish beef in their high-end restaurants.